Chernobyl begins new life as solar power bank Ukraine launches a park of photovoltaic panels at the former Chernobyl power plant as the country seeks to use solar power to give the scene of the world's worst nuclear disaster a new lease on life. The one-million-euro ($1.2-million), one-megawatt plant is located just a hundred metres (yards) from a giant metal dome sealing the remains of the nuclear power plant which suffered a catastrophic meltdown in 1986. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES